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SlimPDF Reader is a super-lightweight Adobe Reader alternative
There's no shortage of Adobe reader alternatives out there, but if you're still searching for one and you like keeping things minimal, check out SlimPDF Reader.
Even at just over 1MB to download, SlimPDF is able to display most PDFs without issue (I don't find myself opening tons of the files anymore, but all the manuals I tested looked good). The interface is easy to get around in, with zoom, rotation, and navigation controls, and a find box (just out of view in my resized window above).
Like other Adobe Reader alternatives, not every PDF is going to render perfectly in SlimPDF -- especially more complex forms and documents. For everyday PDF browsing, however, SlimPDF is an excellent option.
Even at just over 1MB to download, SlimPDF is able to display most PDFs without issue (I don't find myself opening tons of the files anymore, but all the manuals I tested looked good). The interface is easy to get around in, with zoom, rotation, and navigation controls, and a find box (just out of view in my resized window above).
Like other Adobe Reader alternatives, not every PDF is going to render perfectly in SlimPDF -- especially more complex forms and documents. For everyday PDF browsing, however, SlimPDF is an excellent option.
Comments
16
Subscribe to commentscybercapitalistJul 30th 2010 10:42AM
Help me understand... why would someone use an alternative PDF reader when Adobe Acrobat Reader is free?
Eric DiazJul 30th 2010 10:51AM
Because Adobe reader is bloatware and a security risk.
And all the Adobe alternatives are free as well.
cybercapitalistJul 30th 2010 11:11AM
I am not seeing how it is bloatware. It opens in 2 seconds and uses less then 10Mb of RAM.
Also, how can it be a security risk when it doesn't access the net (except for updates)?
If alternatives can't render properly 100% of the time, are they really a viable alternative?
AemonyJul 30th 2010 12:39PM
cybercapitalist, never heard of Word documents containing malicious coding? Or malicious JPEG images containing trojans or viruses? PDFs are the same, and just in 2008 Adobe Reader was affected by a security hole which a person could exploit to gain access to vulnerable systems via the use of a specially crafted PDF file with malicious JavaScript content.
Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=6715
Every mainstream application is often affected by critical vulnerability, however Adobe Reader is notoriously for having been affected by a lot more throughout its lifetime, making protective users feel better using a less known and used alternative.
cybercapitalistJul 30th 2010 1:07PM
@Aemony
Thanks for the link :-)
Everyone has heard of software exploitation.
So, Slim and SumatraPDF are not vulnerable? Where can one find one of these infected PDFs?
cybercapitalistJul 30th 2010 2:20PM
So much for a civilized discussion. Looks like the trolls are coming out...
ProlornJul 31st 2010 3:21AM
Adobe seems to have tightened up Reader's resource usage tremendously in more recent versions, so I suspect "bloatware" cries are overblown. Nevertheless, Reader is certainly more resource intensive than Sumatra, or this "SlimPDF", and in Chrome I prefer to open PDFs in Google's online viewer.
As for security, Reader is indeed a big target. That's another reason I prefer to view PDFs using Google's viewer, and that's why I always scan PDFs after downloading and before viewing, even though most come from trusted sources. But simply disabling javascript in Reader's options seems to go a long way towards securing the application, and I haven't noticed any degradation in usability.
Alvin AdduculJul 30th 2010 10:47AM
Great for text based PDFs but not with some embedded graphics like this one: http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5065/slimpdfvssumatra.jpg
siimJul 30th 2010 11:25AM
to cybercapitalist
Maybe because adobe acrobat reader is too flashy and fancy for real job?
This means that acrobat reader uses too much cpu and ram.
For lightweight pdf reader I would suggest SumatraPDF
http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf/index.html
cybercapitalistJul 30th 2010 12:17PM
I used SumatraPDF for a while and I really liked it. But, I got complaints from my clients that I wasn't making all the corrections they were sending me.
Turns out that I many of the notes and such they were adding to the PDFs weren't coming through with SumatraPDF.
I tried Acrobat Reader 9 and it is much better then the previous version I was using (Acrobat Reader 7) in terms of speed.
If someone could come up with an open-source reader that is 100% accurate I would switch, but for now accuracy is more important.
The original idea behind the PDF file format was accuracy regardless of the program using it; a universal file format.
F-ZeroJul 30th 2010 11:13AM
Sumatra's better imo, and is as lightweight and minimal as SlimPDF
AemonyJul 30th 2010 12:48PM
SlimPDF isn't really useful. For me it is actually a lot slower on opening PDF documents (this is without the Adobe Reader Speed Launcher running on startup). By approximation SlimPDF is about 100% slower than Adobe Reader, four seconds to open a file in comparison to only two seconds with Adobe Reader.
And the memory imprint wasn't very less either, taking only 30% less than Adobe Reader (10 MB vs. 13 MB). If they could deliver the 18,000% less memory usage their website showcases I probably could think about using it, but 3 MB less isn't enough to sacrifice a slower opening of a document.
SumatraPDF is still the better alternative to use, with a startup as fast as Adobe Reader (not faster, mind you) but also with the gain of a slightly less memory usage (1-2 MB).
EricJul 30th 2010 2:17PM
I've never tried SumatraPDF or SlimPDF. I use Foxit Reader and to me it seems faster than Adobe. Plus the install is a ton faster. The only pdf I had a problem with was a form pdf, with actual submit buttons.
KevinJul 31st 2010 11:23AM
I'm still using Foxit. I got spoiled by its bookmarks.
Henry BuiAug 3rd 2010 5:40PM
Truth is, if your computer isn't opening up PDFs on adobe reader instantly then you need to get a new computer. I've used sumatra foxit and adobe reader and they all open up instantly for me even with huge pdf files with scripts and images. Everyone has their own preference. This is like arguing about how win vista was bloatware and bad compared to win xp. You won't notice anything if your computer is fast enough. Why would you buy an i7, 8gb ram, overclock it and put win xp on it? It would probably run the same had I run it on my old P4. Keep up with technology. It's called if stuff runs slow, don't blame it on the code and just have your computer brute force it.
sachinAug 4th 2010 5:51AM
this is awesome...It will now be my default..thanks a lot.